The Global Collector is dedicated to providing you the most useful information relating to everything casino and gambling. Just how do you become a global collector? We will let you in on some industry secrets they don't want you to know.
Think of it this way, we collect information and resources so you can ultimately collect winnings! The house does not always win, if they did why would anyone gamble? Our staff of researchers work hard to find you the best tools to increase your odds no matter what's at stake.
What are some tips on how to read your opponent?
Have you ever watched a poker tournament wondering if some of players were psychic? Reading your opponent is a very key skill you must train yourself to learn if you truly want to be successful at poker. If reading you opponent were easy, everyone would be playing poker and winning more often than naught. You must always pay attention even though you may not be playing a particular hand.
Read the Board:
You will first need to study up on what type of odds you hand holds and consider the other possible hands your opponents may have and what odds they may have. This can be very hard to do, but practice is the best teacher.
Narrow the Hands:
Start to think of why your opponent is making the plays they are making. Use your logic to help gain an understanding of each play. Start to consider the preceding actions they made plays on. This may help aid if what they are currently betting on.
Create your Checklist:
Ask yourself questions as the play unfolds. How many times have they placed a bet during the round? Take note of how many times they put in even though they didn’t go to the very end of the pot. What type of cards were shown at the end? Take note of the types of hands your opponent had at the end, were they low or high cards, suited, aces or bluffing. Are they playing weak hands at the very start. A lot of times loose players will play out of position with their weak hands, especially take note here. If they are tight and come in late with a raiser, typically they will have a good hand. Notice the point in time where they raise or call. Also look at the other players to get a read on their body language. Notice if they have a tendency to be an aggressor or more of an aloof player.
How do I know when to bet and how much?
This part of the game is where one can play it cool or bluff away in hopes the other players will fold. Standard procedure is to start betting aggressive early so the other players know you are there for business. Do not start of timid and weak as it will provide you with minimal leverage and prevent you from getting valuable information from other players. So make it a point to start out aggressive, it will protect your hands later.
A good way to rid yourself of some other players is to make a sizeable raise forcing others to call or even raise themselves. A minimal raise will only raise the pot and keep others in the hand. A good rule of thumb is to bet or raise 3 times the pot or ante.
Always pay attention to the pot size since all other bets will depend on it. If you are feeling lucky, bet in the amount of 75% - 100% of the pot amount which will give an impression others have bad pot odds to call and potentially force them to fold although they may have a better hand, otherwise known as a bluff. However, betting extremely high will lead to suspicious players who may call your bluff, so be careful. If you are on a re-raise, consider raising them 2-3 times the amount they had just raised. This will put them in a bad position if they have any doubt in their mind about their hand.
How do you read poker tells?
In simple definition, a poker tell is a physical reaction one has or a behavior or habit that will provide information about their hand. Once you understand this, you will need to watch your own habits to make sure you are not tipping your hand. Once you study some behaviors you may be able to bet more accurately giving you higher chances to win.
Here are some basic tells you may already know, but still a good refresher nonetheless.
Tells that say “Hey, I have a great hand!”
- Act Uninterested: One may pretend to not be excited about a great hand, when in actuality does and is trying to sucker in more money in the pot
- Jittery Hands: If a players hands are shaky as the bet is being placed, odds are they have a good hand.
- Heavy Breathing: If a player is able to control the shaky hands, then they may be somewhat experienced. But watch their chest to see if you notice a pounding chest. This a dead giveaway they have a great hand.
- The Ole Sigh: If they have a ho hum approach as “I suppose I will call” or “why am I doing this” is a tell they are overacting their big hand.
- Chip Glancing: After reviewing their cards take note if they glance at their chips. They are more than likely measuring how much they can bet.
Tells that say “Hey, my hand sucks!”
- Stare down: If you find you are being stared down, they typically have a weak hand or a hand that can be beaten of later drawn out.
- Short Breath: Notice if they are holding their breath, a definite clue they are bluffing.
- A Long Time Before they Call a Bet: Typically a short glance to the pot is a sign they have a good hand, but a long calculated ponder may mean they are over-acting.
Last thing to consider: Take the above tips with you and watch the other players. They may give false tells if they are more experienced, so you will need to work hard to determine their tells.
What casino games have the best odds?
One constant will hold true when talking about casinos and odds; the house will always win. Take a moment and start naming casino's that have bellied up due to going bankrupt.....don't worry, we'll wait. The house holds and edge in just about every game they offer. Here is a list of the top games and the percentage of house edge.
Craps (double Odds) .60%
Blackjack .80%
Baccarat (banker) 1.17%
Baccarat (player) 1.63%
Pai Gow Poker 2.5%
Roulette (single zero) 2.7%
Three-Card Poker 3.4%
Let It Ride 3.5%
Sports Betting 4.5%
Caribbean Stud Poker 5.26%
Roulette (double zero) 5.6%
Big 6 Wheel 11.1% to 24%
Keno 25%
It's all about odds. Odds will always be in the favor of the casino, but remember that if everyone lost at every single game, no one would play the games and the casino would never make money. With that being said, there are a lot of people out there that through practice and a little bit of luck can be successful at casino games.
When is the best time to fold?
This may be your toughest decision as either you are in a big pot and think you may be able to bluff someone still or you may be in too far over your head. Do not let pride get in your way. It’s your money at stake.
First thing you need to do is evaluate your starting cards. Later on down the road you will almost always need to revert back to your starting hand. As a good rule, stay in the pot if you have some cards either paired, suited, connected, or a combination of both. When you need a miracle to win the pot, it is time to fold.
Start to evaluate “what is out there”. By that, evaluate cards you have already seen, the possible hands out there, and what tells you were able to pick up on. If the pot continues to raise, re-raised, and next thing you know it’s higher than your stack, get out, unless of course you know you have an unbeatable hand. Don’t risk it. And when in doubt, listen to your gut. If your gut is saying get out, but your pride is telling you that you could take home the big pot, the odds are in always in favor of your gut.
How much luck is in poker?
Good luck can often be credited to hard work and planning. If you try to get lucky, you will. That is not always the case, but if you start to think that way, and do all of your planning and training, you will find things will start to fall your way. However, if you rely solely on the luck of the cards, the worse you will play.
Luck is a blessing and a curse depending on your perspective. Half the time a bad player wins the pot its pure luck. A bad player will try to get lucky more often than actually playing straight up and reading tells and odds. It will be no surprise that a bad player is luckier, because they rely on it so heavily to over bluff and win or hold out for the luck of the draw.
On the other hand, the good poker players will do the mathematically correct action and try to avoid being lucky. But yes, they will still get luck sometimes when a particular Ace may get turned up to compliment their 2 Aces. Good players will manufacture luck. A great saying we once heard that has always stuck is “a bad player makes his own luck happen to him whereas a good player makes other players give him good luck”.
